The Supreme Court has recently ruled that the compulsory retirement age of 67 at insurance company Gjensidige was not unlawful.
Compulsory retirement age schemes have been accepted in Norway provided that they have been made known to the employees and practiced consistently and that satisfactory occupational pension benefits have been provided for the employees.
Although these requirements were undoubtedly met, an employee sued Gjensidige, claiming that the scheme violated the prohibition against age discrimination in the Working Environment Act. The prohibition allows for exemptions, however, provided that the discrimination has a justified purpose and is not unreasonably restrictive for the employees.
The Supreme Court accepted a general retirement age of 67 on the grounds that the scheme had a legitimate purpose, i.a. relating to the need for distributing work between generations, a wide-spread wish among many employees to retire at 67 and the need for foreseeability for employers.
It remains to be seen, however, whether such schemes will be deemed lawful for employees younger than 67.
